


{The Most Primitive Human Emotion}

by Hyoukaa



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:42:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25896910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyoukaa/pseuds/Hyoukaa
Summary: A Neji and Tenten love story that never came to be. After years of Tenten believing that she could never see the Hyuuga smile again. He revealed that wasn't the truth. What she was told took her by surprise, and when tension builds love blooms
Relationships: Hyuuga Neji/Tenten
Kudos: 3





	1. {first connection}

**Author's Note:**

> a/n: all noticeable characters and places belong to Masashi Kishimoto

**The Most Primitive Human Emotion**

  
  


_Chapter One: First Connection_

The day comes to a close and the soft blue sky begins to fade into an orange sunset. Tenten watched the sunset at the horizon, spreading its largess into a grateful sky. Rich hues of red blended with oranges, purples, crimsons. It entranced her and sent a sudden sensation through her body. As she reeled her self back into reality she found Neji holding his hand out towards her, indicating for her to take it. And as she did for the brief moment that their hands were connected she felt his warmth. The same warmth that had protected her before, but she had never felt it before that moment, so why was the feeling so familiar? Yet when she looked up at him she only saw the same cold eyes that have always been there. The sadness in her heart grew.  
  
"okay team. Great job today!" Her Sensei's enthusiastic voice filled the heavy air surrounding her and lifted it with youthful vigour.  
  
"Thank you Guy Sensei!" Lee stepped forward and addressed Guy with the same undying excitable innocence in his voice that never seems to fade. Loud enough that the surrounding houses could possibly hear.  
  
"Well, I’m going to go now." The same coldness Tenten had seen in his eyes transferred into his edgeless tone, although Lee was distracted by his want to improve himself, both he and Guy could hear his voice cut the warm air like a cold knife.  
  
Tenten froze at the sudden anguish that Neji had thrown in her direction, it shocked her, to say the least, but she shook it off as ' _Neji is probably just in a bad mood_ '. Although Guy was not so quick to forgive Neji's words and held his gaze towards him for a few seconds longer, at this point, Neji had already walked off without allowing the others to say anything in return.  
  
"I'm going to go as well. see you all tomorrow." Her voice was softer than usual, perhaps she still felt taken-aback by Neji's callous tone. Lee and Guy both fixating themselves on Tenten are at a loss of words for what has just happened. Tenten walked in the same direction as Neji keeping her eyes on the ground not looking up or back, and as Guy and Lee kept their eyes in her direction Guys expression turned into one of concern whilst Lee still kept up his confused persona.  
  
"Sensei, what... just happened?" Lee's usual bounce in his voice was subdued as he tentatively questioned the situation that just unravelled and turned his head towards Guy who was now looking slightly shocked. Seeing his Sensei's face only increased his confusion and worry though.  
  
"I.. don't know Lee."  
  
As Tenten felt her feet leave the soft mud of the training ground she looked back up at the sky and watched as the sun sank lower, light of day draining away, giving way to the velvety dark of night, crickets chirping, dusky, colors subdued in the fading light, first buzz of mosquitoes, street lights click on, day winding down, first star in the night sky, short June darkness, air became cooler, evening landscape, twilight had fallen, the sharp shadow of the lamppost had faded into the dark of the sidewalk, fading light, only the faintest of light shone through the leaves, soon it grew dark, darkening sky, a close silence in the dim evening light.  
  
"Hey! Tenten." thoughts of the sky were interrupted by her Sensei's bubbly voice, the intrusion was sudden but it did not shock her to see him. She felt kind of glad.   
  
"Oh, what's up Sensei?" But her voice did not express the same emotion as she felt internally, keeping the same soft voice as she did earlier.   
  
he creased his eyebrows slightly, concerned as to how emotionally stable she is. "Tenten do you mind going over to Neji’s and giving him a message Lady Tsunade gave me?" he returned a smile not wanting her to see how his worry was unfolding.  
  
She saw the worry flicker in his face ever so slightly, forcing her self to sound brighter. "sure, what do you want me to tell him?" though she doubts she was very convincing. Her stance changed.  
  
He saw the change in her posture and tone, it worried him further as he believed she did this to relax his worry. "tell him to meet us at the gate at 5:00 AM. Team Guy has a mission!" but his apprehension only increased.  
  
The facade began to slip as she remembered Neji's apathetic expression as he helped her up."oh okay…" Her discomfort increased.   
  
"thank you, Tenten. Oh! And if you see Lee do you mind telling him as well?"  
  
"sure…" She wasn't sure how else to reply, her Sensei's awareness of her dejected feeling didn't allow her any other response.  
  
The silence in their conversation filled the air around them with heavy ineptitude. "well I’m off to find Kakashi. See you tomorrow Tenten." he hurried himself off letting a feeling of uneasiness wash over him as he left the hurt girl by herself.  
  
She watched him turn his back and wave a hand behind him "okay, bye then…" She turned in the opposite direction, with each stride her mind became more ambiguous, more cloudy as if the growing physical distance between Tenten and Neji had now become an emotional chasm. As the nascent moonlight caressed her skin, she entombed her memories of him in thick-walled ice. Then, abruptly pausing to close her eyes and take in a deep breath of icy air, she steeled herself to only think of positive memories. Then with each stride after that, she felt more pessimistic, anxious within her own mind, body and soul. And Tenten reached the corner coming up to his house she took one final gulp of air before planting a square smile on her face. Turning the corner she found Neji standing outside with a broad smile and she instantly felt lighter knowing she wouldn't be engaging in a conversation doomed to fail.   
  
"Nej-" She stopped in her tracks. She sees Hinata standing with him. They are talking. Within an instant Tenten stumbles back and hides around the corner, sinking to her feet, she places a hand on her chest and feels her heart rate steadily but suddenly increase as her chest rises and falls rapidly. Tenten hides behind the wall and listens to the conversation, sighing in relief when she realizes none of them heard or saw her.   
  
Their voices are muffled from the distance she is at but she can hear them. "training wasn’t that bad." His voice sincere and confident, not like normal.  
  
"that’s good. I prepared a bath for your arrival." Hinata's voice like always shy and compassionate.  
  
"Thank you very much Lady Hinata." Although Tenten knew he had to call her that because of formalities, hearing him say it so sweetly kind broke her.  
  
"by the way, Neji, are you doing anything tomorrow?"  
  
"no not at the moment. Why? What did you want us to do?"  
  
Tenten couldn't take it any longer and she began to weep. And as she wept she ran far and fast, 'anywhere is better than here' she thought. 'Stupid Neji. What am I getting so worked up for? Why do I care so much?' At that moment she felt her body collide with someone else and Tenten was thrown backwards on to the ground as was the person she ran into.  
  
The man sharply inhaled. "oww..."  
  
"I am so sorry. I-" Tenten frantically apologizes and stands up to go and help the person she knocked over but when she looked up she found that she had ran into Lee. Shock fills her face and voice "Lee?!" She then turns around and wipes her tears away, not wanting to let Lee know about her state of heartache. Tenten then turned around and placed that exaggerated smile once again on her face.  
  
Lee looked at her with concern, he could tell something was wrong. Her eyes were puffy and cheeks flushed as if she had just been crying. He delicately prodded at the situation. "Tenten are you okay? You seemed to be running very fast. Were you headed somewhere?" Lee tentatively awaited her response anxious as what would become of the situation.  
  
"Sorry, I’m fine. Although Lee would you pass on a message to Neji for me? It’s from Guy Sensei." Tenten averted her eyes, she could see his worry was flourishing. His eyes are so different in moments like these, softer than I knew his eyes could be. The dedicated, hyperactive, over-worker is gone and instead, it is the eyes of one who is deeply concerned.  
  
he tried to mask the worry he could tell was building up in his face, by how Tenten reacted to his question, by cocking his head slightly to the left, opening his eyes wide like a deer in headlights and giving her his signature smile. "yes of course. What is it?"  
  
"tell him to meet us at the gate at 5:00 AM, as we have a mission." She gave him nothing just a blank stare.  
  
The two of them stayed in silence. Neither risking speech to jeopardize the sensitivity of the situation. Lee knew it had to be handled with care, one wrong move and he would set her off. Lee could tell she was avoiding eye contact. "Yes but Tenten, Are you sure you’re fine?" He lightly touched her shoulder.  
  
Tenten's eyes widened in disbelief and felt her emotions bubble at the surface of her skin. "I’M FINE JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" she runs off not knowing the effect she could have had on Lee. Tears streak her crestfallen face. She didn't mean to shout she just didn't know what else to do.  
  
"WAIT! … Tenten..." he runs to Neji’s house, knowing that for whatever reason Tenten had acted out involved Neji. ' _Right?_ ' He turns the corner that Tenten had observed the two cousins from. Lee sees both Neji and Hinata still standing outside their house and sprints towards them.  
  
"NEJI!" The boy screams with all his might, feeling his friend's name stick and scratch at the back of his throat.  
  
The prodigy looks up to find his teammate sprinting towards him."Lee? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Has Tenten come by here?" He was panting, an expression of worry rapidly spreading across his face.  
  
His confusion grows. ' _Tenten what has she got to do with any of this?_ ' "what do you mean? I haven't seen her since training ended."  
  
"oh…" his worry grew, but it was overtaken by confusion. Confusion as to what Tenten was so upset about.  
  
"wait…? But what’s wrong with Tenten?" Now Neji was the one with a state of concern spreading across his face.  
  
Lee was still slightly distracted still trying to figure Tenten's fixated subversion. "I ran into her not long ago and she seemed upset and was crying."   
  
' _Crying! Tenten was crying!_ ' "yes but why did you assume that she was crying because of me." His voice cracked slightly, his emotions beginning to embellish. He swallowed deeply.  
  
Lee looked up at his teammate his face solemn and concerned. "because she had been running away from the direction of your house."  
  
Neji's face lit up with shock. Every part of him goes on pause while his thoughts catch up. ' _She was crying because of me?_ '   
  
  


_The Most Primitive Human Emotion is despair..._


	2. {seeking}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: might I say again that all noticeable characters and places belong to Masashi Kishimoto

**The Most Primitive Human Emotion**

_Chapter Two: Seeking_

  
Her feet pounded the tarmac with all the grace of a sack of wet concrete, the springing graceful steps of twenty miles earlier had long since disappeared. Her rasping throat was as parched as a dead lizard in the desert sun. Tenten's head bobbed loosely from side to side with each footfall and his eyes felt heavy in their sockets, Tenten's ears painfully rang at the sound of her feet slamming against the floor. And as she came to a halt Tenten found herself holding back tears, but for what reason, she could figure out. Was it because of the deep hopelessness she felt because of Neji or the way she treated Lee was unjust? As she walks through her front door Tenten looks around at her apartment, the dark empty rooms filled with cold air shiver at her presence. She lay on her bed and just let everything go, grabbing her blanket and curling herself up into a ball as if to protect herself. But the more she tried the quicker her walls came collapsing upon her and Tenten cried harder.  
  
' _Why did he look so happy talking to her. I know they’re family and all, but why can’t he talk to me in the same way he talks to her?_ ' The tears slap her torn face, searing her skin. When Tenten cried there was a rawness to it like the pain was still an open wound. The sobs were stifled at first as she attempted to hide her anguish, then overcome by the wave of her emotions Tenten would break down entirely, all Her defences washed away in those salty tears. ' _Wait. what am I saying. Why should I care how Neji sees me. But still, I am really upset about the whole thing. I just have to pretend nothing happened and act normal tomorrow. I’ll tell Lee to forget what he saw_ '. Then, just when she thought the breakthrough would come and she would trust herself with her own vulnerability, the shutters would come down, her emotion walled off behind a mask of coping. ' _Yeah. everything will be fine tomorrow. I’ll just pretend that the whole thing never happened_ '. She would just wear it until everything was right again, she didn't know another way.   
  
Neji paced his room with animosity, feeling the thud of the wooden floorboards quiver under his weight. All the reasons not to do this come flooding in, as if his body chemistry just sent them a blanket invitation. He felt the soft panic that can grow or fade depending on what he does next. It will fade if he asks her what happens ' _maybe_ ', but then he'd have to deal with Tenten getting upset. ' _maybe she wants to be left alone?_ ' It will grow if he lets these thoughts swirl into a vortex of stupidity, eating their own tail. Or he can breathe real slow, let the thoughts leak into his subconsciousness and let them be the real boss of him. ' _Why was she so upset? And why was she coming from my house? Did she want to tell me something? Gahh this is so confusing! But I’m worried now. What if she got hurt and I didn’t help her?! Well, I guess there is no point hypothesizing. I’ll just have to ask her tomorrow._ '   
  
The sun rises as a canopy of gold, bright amid the blue, bidding the stars to take their nightly rest. As darkness surrenders, every colour changes from tinges of charcoal to a vibrancy. There are days Tenten wonder what we give in return for such gifts of divine magic; perhaps it is our love, perhaps we radiate it into space; perhaps that is our connection to creation beyond the borders of our world, our reality. Tenten walks towards the gate and ahead sees the green jumpsuits knowing she has arrived at her destination. ' _No Neji so far_ ' she thinks noticing that those cold eyes have not glared at her so aggressively. Guy looks down at his watch ' _it's 4:55 and Neji still isn't here. This isn't usually like him._ '  
  
"Hello, Tenten!" Lees cheery attitude calls out to Tenten, seeming free like always as if he completely forgot everything that happened yesterday.  
  
' _He was unfazed by me._ ' Tenten walked up to Lee eyes on the ground, moving her arms stiffly by her sides when she saw his shoes she stopped. She looked into his dark eyes, unlike Neji's pale eyes that were filled with cold anguish, Lee’s eyes were filled with warmth. He smiled at her with sincerity and regretted what she had to tell him. "Lee, about yesterday. Forget anything happened." She gave him an emotionless, cold response. It stung her she was treating the person who was most caring to her like the person who only treated her like a nuisance.  
  
"But Tenten…" His expression changed drastically from contentment and delight to distress and confusion. ' _did I do something wrong?_ '  
  
"Just forget it!" Like yesterday she shouts at him in the same unfriendly manner, not meaning what she really says but saying for her own and others' protection, having to force tears back. Tenten backs away slightly as if to get away from the despair she displayed, and as she did she heard footsteps come up from behind her and froze slightly.  
  
"Forget what?" His usual unfriendly voice was replaced with one of curiosity, this unusual tone coming from the prodigy perplexed both Lee and Tenten alike. She spun on one heel to face her teammate and within those brief moments of spinning she smiled with a slight sadness etched on her face.   
  
"Oh! Nothing Neji. don’t worry." Tenten's voice was weak, she didn't really know how to respond and was scared of the unknown future. Whether he could see this remained a secret to her as his face didn't change.  
  
"Okay! Now everyone is here. We can begin our mission. We have been given the task to go to the sand village and collect a document from Lord Gaara himself! Are you all ready?!" It's as if he knew when to come in, breaking up the tension filling the heavy air. But also responding as if he didn't know the current situation. ' _He's a lot smarter than he leads on, or maybe he really didn't know what was going on. who knows?_ '  
  
"YES GUY SENSEI. I am ready to demonstrate the fruits of my youth!" Lee also responding with such intuitive excitement could convince you that he wasn't showing any shock not only a moment ago. It was as if they were programmed to show corresponding animated actions.  
  
Guy turned away swiftly as if trying to hide his face. "Thank you, Lee! Let's get going." His voice was more rounded than usual it had a calming allure.  
  
Neji's face creased. ' _Damn it. It seems I won’t be able to talk to Tenten in these conditions. I need to find a way._ '   
  
When the twilight fades to blackness it lit a fire inside of Tenten. It burns away the drabness of the day, the clock in and the clock out, the mechanized life, robotic and cold. The night means downtown is lit by the neon lights, shining on the rain-kissed sidewalks. The sky was black tranquillity married to a poetry of stars. It was the softness that called body and brain to rest and let the heart go to its steady rhythm. Night came as a reward of sorts, a restfulness above to calm the soul. It was a warm black that hugged you no matter what, and within its safety, I could feel my own soul all the more clearly, that innocent inborn spark. The moon shone through the tree branches. They were soft, silvery and emanated a divine aura of everlasting magic and hope. It coiled its glowing tendrils upon whatever it came across, dipping the creature in a radiant, hypnotic glow. It showered down as sprinkles of allure and pearly hues, casting shadows that bathed in its intrinsic charm. But then, in a trice, a cloud- grave and purposeful, moved stolidly with a gust of the invigorating breeze, and mercilessly concealed the moon, thus leaving the world austere, miserable and dark.  
  
Guy suddenly halted and held his arm up indicating for us to do the same. He dropped from the tree-tops to the ground and turned to look at his team. "Okay, everyone. We will stop here for tonight and make camp. Tenten make a fire. Lee, Neji help me set up these tents will ya."  
  
"Yes, guy Sensei." All three of the boys turn the other direction and watch idly as Guy Sensei takes the tents out of his bag.  
  
Tenten sigh's slightly and drops her bag. ' _Everything seems to be going smoothly so far. I hope it will be like this for the rest of the mission. Although it's awkward for me. It’s better than him, never mind._ ' She gets a scroll out and it releases flint and steel.  
  
"Guys. It appears we have a situation on our hands." Her Sensei's voice becomes weary and anxious as he slowly turns around to look at the three of us.  
  
"What seems to be the problem?" Although his Sensei's distressed voice hasn't seemed to of shifted his tone nor stance.  
  
"Well...uhh…" sweat was visibly falling down his face at this point, worry-stricken.  
  
"What is it?" Still, it threw no one-off as Guy seemed to be the only one worried.  
"It seems I only packed two instead of four tents…" There was a pause no one said anything as they let his words play over in their heads.  
  
. . .  
  
Tenten's face suddenly changed, her eyes widen in shock. "WHAT?!"  
  
"What do you mean there are only two tents?" Neji felt the same wave of shock as Tenten but kept his reaction more discreet.  
  
"Two tents means there are two tents. It means we will have to share. Two people per tent." Guy's voice was shaking slightly, he tried to smile to make things better but it only made things worse seeing how nervous he was.  
  
' _you’ve got to be kidding me._ ' Tenten felt a wave of panic fall on her as she realized what this meant.   
  
Before anyone could respond Lee suddenly raised his hand. "Guy Sensei! Then would it be alright if I were to share a tent with you?"  
  
Tenten suddenly turns her head in Lee's direction and gives him a shocked and questioning glance. ' _he did that on purpose._ '  
  
Guy had returned to his confidant, composed but ecstatic state. "Well of course Lee. But only if the others are fine with their sleeping arrangements." His voice was controlled instead of the usual outburst of excitement he conducts.  
  
Neji kind of straightens up and steps forward slightly as if to indicate he is going to declare his next words like they were some kind of agreement. ' _This is my chance._ '  
  
"uhh… well, I -" In the moment Tenten freezes up unable to deny Neji but at the same time not able to except having the same sleeping arrangements as him.   
  
"We are both fine with that." Without any hesitation, Neji answers. It was like was excited without the excitement.  
  
Guy looks at Tenten quickly, he's sceptical of Neji's rapid response and Tenten's hesitation but overlooks it as he feels Neji had a reason to do what he did. "Great! well if we both set up our retrospective tents and get to sleep. For we have a long journey ahead of us." He says the last part almost to himself like he was scared if the others heard him. But had no reason to do such a thing.   
  
Tenten looks over at Neji like Guy sceptical and very confused. ' _I didn’t agree to this! But if I say no now I’ll have to explain myself. Ughh. this is so annoying. Why was he so quick to answer? What’s his motive? Wait! Could he know? No that’s impossible. Maybe -_ '   
  
"Shall we set up our tent then?" Tenten's thoughts were interrupted by Neji's voice, and she only really now realized what was going to happen.  
  
"ohh! Right, sorry I spaced out for a second then. haha." Tenten half-mumbled with an awkward laugh to try and resolve the situation.  
  
Neji looked at Tenten, his eyes softer than usual. "That’s not a problem."  
  
But as Neji looked towards her Tenten looked away embarrassed by the Hyūga. ' _This is so awkward._ '  
  
And as the tents were being set up everyone just drifted into a world of silence, not speaking but not needing to speak. After about ten minutes everyone came together.  
  
"Okay everyone rest up. As we have a long day of travelling ahead. Neji, Tenten sleep well." Guy kept his voice low as if to empathize with everyone's tired state of mind.  
  
"You too." Tenten's voice like her Sensei was calming but more agitated than him.  
  
The prodigy of hard-work threw this thumb up and yelled above the others. "Goodnight to the both of you."  
  
Neji replied with his usual cold alluring tone. "Goodnight."  
  
As they went inside the tent, Neji and Tenten both just laid there. Back to back at opposite sides of the tent. Not saying anything but not needing to. Neji could tell the girl was avoiding any sort of contact.  
  
So after the awkward silence came the awkward comment. "Tenten?"  
  
Tenten froze as Neji looked over his shoulder, his blank face and pale eyes staring directly at her. Neji was indeed the one who broke the silence between them, but his voice was still soft. He knew that asking now would have been really awkward. So he just laid their, pensively, and yet in a relaxed sort of manner that was almost nonchalant.  
  
' _Do I say anything?_ ' panic clouded her judgement as she decided whether she should reply him or not. But before she could come to a decision.  
  
"Tenten, what happened yesterday?" His voice was strong and sincere.  
  
  


_The Most Primitive Human Emotion is Desire..._


	3. {memories}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: you know that one Asian guy who made Naruto, yeah, well please don't sue me ~

**The Most Primitive Human Emotion**

  
  
_Chapter 3: Memories_

  
  
Tenten inhales sharply through her teeth, feeling her heart pound harder in her chest. She swallows deeply sensing the anxiety of the situation build up. She resists the urge to let her emotions pour out of her body, and let herself be vulnerable in front of Neji. She hears him twist around to face her, the sound of his breathing closer than it was before. She kept her back turned to him still.  
  
“I know you’re awake.” His voice felt rushed as if he was nervous about the decision he was making. “Please tell me.” you can hear the pain in his voice, the rising pitch, the crack saying as if he was going to cry. It scared Tenten to know Neji could act this way, She had only ever seen him act so stoic. Why only now were his emotions seeping through?  
  
“Did Lee tell you?” She decided to assess the situation calmly, not wanting to jump to conclusions and not wanting to tell Neji more than he already knows.  
  
Neji stares at Tenten’s back wondering what expression she has. “Yes.” His quick response scares him not knowing how the situation will resolve itself.  
  
Her heart pounded harder, “Wh-what did he tell you?” She stuttered her breathing becoming visibly heavier and louder. Her panic was rising; She had never let anyone know what she was truly feeling and didn’t want Neji to be the first. She had always kept her emotions to herself, it was safer that way.  
  
Neji Could hear her voice crack and felt his own anxiety rise. It hurt him to know that he was the one making her feel that way. He didn’t know if telling her the truth would be a wise decision, but he did it anyway. “he told me that you had been crying, and when I asked why he assumed I had been the one to make you cry he said that you had been running away from the direction of my house.” Neji filled the air with silence not knowing what to say after that. The same was returned as Tenten did not know how to respond.  
  
Tenten shut her eyes and let the darkness within her head envelop her. The darkness was shrouded in doubt and misery unlike the warm, black night sky and for that reason it frightened her. ‘How did I get into this mess?’ The darkness presses up against her skin closer than close, it whispers excitement into her ears. The darkness is your best friend. The darkness will be your favourite thing right up until your exits are blocked, then it has no reason to hide. If it were easy to spot then it wouldn’t be a problem, how often are you confused with night and day? But if you don’t understand your own emotions and motivations, you can’t be helped. Now what do you want? What do you fear?  
  
“Tenten” Neji’s Voice was delicate and painful, like newly broken skin the kind that you happen to know as a child who falls on their knees.  
  
Tenten begins to cry. As much as she tried to hold it in, the pain came out like an uproar from her throat in the form of a silent scream. The beads of water started falling down one after another, without a sign of stopping. She hit the floor beside her with a little force and tried to emulate any sort of noise, but her voice was melted by the sound of her crying. The muffled sobs wracked against her chest. The world turned into a blur, and so did all the sounds. The taste. The smell. Everything was gone. The last painful emotion slammed against her before she lost the feeling of feeling. Everything darkened into nothingness as she passed into oblivion of uneasiness.  
  
“Tenten?” This time when he said her name it felt more on edge. He didn’t know what to do he had never seen a girl cry before. Especially not Tenten.  
  
Tenten’s sobs stifled as she found the courage to speak. ”Why?” she left out something between a gasp for air and a cough. ”Why Neji?” She began to stop crying but it was replaced by heavy breathing. “Why are you always so happy around her? Do I mean that little to you that you can’t even fake a reason to seem less hateful towards me?” Tenten sat up slowly and clumsily and turn to face Neji. She wasn’t crying within that moment but you could tell she had been. The rawness of her red eyes, the skin around them puffy. The evident pain etched across her face hits Neji at full force, he didn’t expect it to hurt so much. He didn’t expect that seeing someone he cared for so deeply and desperately in pain would wound him so much.  
  
He didn’t know how to reply, he stumbled within his own mind. “Tenten…” he paused for a moment trying to think of the right thing to say. “What – who are you talking about?”  
  
“HINATA!” She screamed, before this point Neji wasn’t sure if Guy and Lee could hear them but he was almost certain of it now although he believed that they chose to ignore it. “Who else?” She whispered through gritted teeth still Neji was able to hear her.  
  
Neji blushed slightly at the prospect of dating his cousin. Not because he liked her but because he knew how wrong it was and was confused why Tenten would believe such a thing to be true. Neji sighed slightly not out of frustration and not out of relief, but like he was readying himself for something. But what that ‘ _something_ ’ was Tenten couldn’t of known. “You’ve got it all wrong.” He said slowly, almost as if he was trying to make sure she didn’t miss a word of what he was saying. “I’m not happy around Hinata because I love her. I only see her as my cousin.” Neji paused for a moment bracing himself for the inevitable. He was scared so he closed his eyes as if to keep himself hidden but that only made him more vulnerable. “But I guess I shouldn’t expect you to understand it remember.” He upended his eyes.  
  
Tenten's sad empathetic face changed into one of confusion and curiosity. “What are you talking about?” Her words had a sharp edge to them. “Remember what?” But they were dulled by her kindness and sense of fragility radiating off the situation.  
  
He took a deep breath and looked up at the top of the tent trying to find the stars through all the chaos. “Why I could never love Hinata. And why I am the way I am.” His voice felt hollow, the emotionlessness in his words left Tenten feeling chilly at their reception.  
  
She looked Neji in the eyes and saw no sign that would suggest any other intentions “what is there to remember?”  
  
“As I said I wouldn’t expect you to remember.” His eyes flickered slightly to the left and bit his lip, and as he swallowed Tenten could see the Adam’s apple in his throat dislodge and fall back into place. “Because they whipped your memory of the whole event.”  
  
Tenten is slightly baffled at first. ‘ _What does he mean?_ ’ Then it hit her, but she wished she didn’t understand as she put a hand up to her mouth as the shock of his words took its toll.

  
  
_The Most Primitive Human Emotion is Lying..._


End file.
